A new report suggests diners are beginning to cool on the fast-food staple

For decades the most popular of side orders — wedded on menus to everything from burgers to chicken to breakfasts, and sometimes consumed as a main course in its own right — the French fry is beginning to lose its dominance, according to a new study. As chain restaurants boost their array of healthier offerings, both the number of servings of French fries and the dish’s share of total food sales is dropping, a report released Thursday by the Hudson Institute found. French fries sales fell nearly 2% at five big restaurant chains between 2006 and 2011 – or some 10 million servings a year, the non-profit think-tank in Washington, D.C. reports.

Though people have known for years that fries are less wholesome than salads, the tide seems to finally be turning. “People who are conscious about healthier lifestyles are gravitating away from fries,” says Hank J. Cardello, a fellow and director of the obesity solutions initiative at the Hudson Institute, and lead author of the report. In fact, the restaurant servings of lower calorie food rose nearly 2% during the same five year period, while traditional servings fell by almost 5%.

Homework with a side of fries

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In many communities, after the library and the computer lab close for the night, there’s often only one place to turn for students without Internet access at home: the local McDonald's. WSJ's Anton Troianovski reports from Citronelle, Alabama.

“We’re not recommending that people only eat tofu and tree bark,” Cardello says. “But this is a rallying call for restaurants to start serving smaller servings.” Already, lower-calorie items account for more than 37% of total servings, he says, and those figures will continue to climb as customers become more educated about better options. Cardello recommends smaller portions of French Fries and healthier alternatives to cooking oils high in trans- and saturated fatty acids such as omega-9 sunflower oil.

That said, it’s not likely the French fry will disappear anytime soon. In fact, though the Hudson Institute study found that fewer customers are ordering them, by at least one measure the presence of French fries is growing. According to a study by Mintel, the number of potato-based side dished listed on restaurant menus grew 11.8% between 2007 and 2012.

And the healthier choices tend to be more expensive. The scary calorie counts posted on the menu may even be boosting restaurant profits, which are now selling less food for the same price, the report found.

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